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BMC's Trauma Centers Receive Reverification for Three Years

(Boston) – May 3, 2013 - The trauma center at Boston Medical Center (BMC) has been re-verified for three years as a Level l Adult Trauma Center and Level II Pediatric Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

BMC is the busiest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England, with more than 130,000 emergency visits and approximately 2,000 trauma admissions per year on the same campus. Staffed with seven full-time, dedicated trauma and critical care attending surgeons, the BMC trauma center is the longest continuously verified Level I trauma center in New England.

Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the COT's Consultation/Verification Program promotes the development of trauma systems. Participant hospitals must demonstrate the resources necessary for the entire spectrum of trauma care to address the needs of all injured patients. This spectrum encompasses the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process.

Trauma centers must meet the required established in the Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual. The ACS Committee on Trauma's verification program does not designate trauma centers. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is the agency that designates all trauma centers and has made ACS verification (along with other criteria) a requirement.

“Very few hospital programs undergo the level of scrutiny that occurs with a trauma center survey and our success is a testament to all the disciplines and specialties that work with our trauma patients. It is truly an institutional accomplishment,” said Peter Burke, MD, chief of trauma services at BMC.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College has over 72,000 members and it is the largest association of surgeons in the world. Longstanding achievements have placed the ACS in the forefront of American surgery and have made it an important advocate for all surgical patients.